The Pension which the King alloweth to every Judge of Chancery is foure thousand duckats yeerly, and three thousand to his Attorney, all which is paid out of the Kings Exchequer abiding in that City. Yet what besides they get by bribes, and trading is so much, that I have heard a Judge himselfe _Don Luis de las Infantas_ say, that though a Judges place at _Mexico_ and _Lima_ be more honourable, yet none more profitable then _Guatemala_. In my time were such causes at Chancery tried, as had never been, of murthers, robberies, and oppressions, and whereas it was expected the offendants some should be hanged, some banished, some imprisoned, some by fines impoverished, bribes took all off, so that I never knew one hanged in that City for the space of above eight yeers. The Churches though they be not so fair and rich as those of _Mexico_, yet they are for that place wealthy enough. There is but one Parish Church and a Cathedrall which standeth in the chiefe Market-place. All the other Churches belong to Cloisters, which are of Dominicans, Franciscans, Mercenarians, Augustines, and Jesuites, and two of Nuns, called the Conception and _St. Catharine_. The Dominicans, Franciscans, and Mercenarians are stately Cloisters, containing neer a hundred Friers a piece; but above all is the Cloister where I lived, of the Dominicans, to which is joyned in a great Walk before the Church the Universitie of the City. The yeerly revenues which come into this Cloister, what from the _Indian_ Towns belonging to it, what from a water-mill, what from a farme for corne, what from an Estancia, or farme for Horses and Mules, what from an Ingenio, or farme of Sugar, what from a Mine of silver given unto it the yeer 1633. are judged to be (excepting all charges) at least thirty thousand duckats; wherewith those fat Friers feast themselves, and have to spare to build, and enrich their Church and Altars. Besides much treasure belonging to it, there are two things in it, which the _Spaniards_ in merriment would often tell me that the _English_ nation did much inquire after, when they tooke any ship of theirs at sea, and that they feared I was come to spie them, which were a Lampe of silver hanging before the high Altar, so big as required the strength of three men to hale it up with a rope; but the other is of more value; which is a picture of the Virgin _Mary_ of pure silver, and of the stature of a reasonable tall woman, which standeth in a Tabernacle made on purpose in a Chappel of the Rosary with at least a dozen lampes of silver also burning before it. A hundred thousand duckats might soone be made up of the treasure belonging to that Church and cloister. Within the walls of the Cloister there is nothing wanting which may further pleasure and recreation. In the lower Cloister there is a spatious garden, in the midst whereof is a fountains casting up the water, and spouting it out of at least a dozen pipes, which fill two ponds full of fishes, and with this their constant running give musicke to the whole Cloister, and encouragement to many water-fowles and Ducks to bath and wash themselves therein. Yet further within the Cloister, there are other two gardens for fruits and herbage, and in the one a pond of a quarter of a mile long, all paved at the bottom, and a low stone wall about, where is a boat for the Friers recreation, who often goe thither to fish, and doe sometimes upon a suddaine want or occasion take out from thence as much fish as will give to the whole Cloister a dinner. The other Cloisters of the City are also rich; but next to the Dominicans is the Cloister of Nuns, called the Conception, in which at my time there were judged to live a thousand women, not all Nuns, but Nuns, and their serving maids or slaves, and yong children which were brought up and taught to worke by the Nuns. The Nuns that are professed bring with them their portions, five hundred duckats the least, some six hundred, some seven, and some a thousand, which portions after a few yeers (and continuing to the Cloister after the Nuns decease) come to make up a great yeerly rent. They that will have maids within to wait on them may, bringing the bigger portion, or allowing yeerly for their servants diet. In this Cloister lived that _Donna Juana de Maldonado_ Judge _Juan Maldonado de Paz_ his daughter, whom the Bishop so much conversed withall.